January 14th, 1943 (THURSDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: To counter a "serious increase" in U-boat operations, the RAF switches its bombing campaign from industrial targets to U-boat bases in France, attacking Cherbourg and Lorient.
BELGIUM: Eight USAAF Eighth Air Force Spitfire Mk Vs carry out three Rhubarbs (a small number of aircraft attacking ground targets usually in bad weather) and engage Fw 190s west of Ostend. They claim two Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed.
FRANCE: During the night of 14/15 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 122 aircraft, 63 Halifaxes, 33 Wellingtons, 20 Stirlings and six Lancasters, in the first of eight area attacks on the French port of Lorient which is being used as a U-boat base; two Wellingtons are lost: 103 aircraft bomb the target with the loss of two aircraft.. This was No 6 (RCAF) Group's first bombing operation, with nine Wellingtons and six Halifaxes being dispatched. One Wellington of No 426 Squadron, RCAF, is the group's first loss; Pilot Officer (USAAF 2nd Lieutenant) George Milne and his crew, five Canadians and an Englishman, all died when their aircraft is lost in the sea. The Pathfinder marking of the target was accurate but later bombing by the Main Force was described as wild In other missions, 41Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Bay of Biscay ports: 13 lay mines in the Gironde River Estuary, seven off Lorient, six off Brest, four each off La Pallice and St. Nazaire, two off Bayonne and one off St. Jean de Luz. Thirteen other bombers drop leaflets over France.
GERMANY: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends six Halifaxes on a cloud-cover raid to Leer but only one aircraft bombs through a gap in the clouds.
U-958 is commissioned.
U.S.S.R.: The Russians take Pitomnik airfield; the German forces at Stalingrad now have only one airfield, Gumrak, connecting them by air with German forces outside the Stalingrad pocket.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Italian submarine R.Smg. Narvalo is attacked by an RAF Beaufort Mk. I or II of No. 39 Squadron based at Shallufa, Egypt, and sunk by destroyers HMS Pakenham (G 06) and Hursley (L 84) southeast of Malta. The sub is returning to Italy from a supply mission to North Africa. Aboard are 11 British officer POWs; eight of them go down with the sub along with 28 Italian sailors.
FRENCH MOROCCO: The Casablanca Conference Begins.
Casablanca: The two men meeting in the heavily-guarded compound at the Hotel Anfa, are known as Admiral Q and Mr. P. In fact, they are President Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill; with their military advisers, they are planning the next moves against the Axis powers.
The original intention had been to hold a "Big Three" conference, but Stalin said that he could not leave the country; the fighting on the Stalingrad front, he said, demands "my constant presence near our troops". Stalin rounded off his letter to Roosevelt with a reminder that the president and Mr. Churchill had promised to open a second front in Europe by spring 1943.
But the US and Britain are keen to exploit the imminent Allied victory in North Africa by striking across the Mediterranean, probably at Sicily although some favour Sardinia, and knocking Italy out of the war. The planned assault on north-west Europe will almost certainly be delayed as the combined chiefs of staff say that there are as yet too many logistical problems. Italy, however, could be tackled this year and, the British say, would divert German forces from Russia.
On the last day of the conference they express regret that Stalin is unable to attend. (Gene Hanson)
Casablanca: Two French generals, each claiming to speak for France, have finally met in a villa in a suburb of Casablanca where the Allied leaders are now meeting. Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Fighting (Free) French in London, agreed to talk to Henri Giraud, based in Algiers, only after intense pressure from Churchill.
De Gaulle loftily rejected an invitation from Roosevelt to come to Casablanca; he considered it an insult to be invited by an American to visit French Morocco. At length he gave way, but even then it was some hours before he agreed to meet Giraud, who was staying in the next villa. Churchill told him that if he persisted in his obduracy he could find himself abandoned by the British, upon whose goodwill he is entirely dependent.
De Gaulle, who has been the symbol of French resistance since the collapse of 1940, deeply mistrusts the conservative and anti-republican Giraud. For his part, Giraud, who escaped from a German prisoner-of-war camp last year, rejects de Gaulle claim to be the sole leader of the Fighting French and refuses to co-operate in joint military operations. After a two-hour meeting the two generals agreed on one point only: to keep in touch.
Roosevelt">Franklin Roosevelt became the first president to travel on official business by airplane when he flew from Miami, Florida, to Casablanca. Crossing the Atlantic by air, Roosevelt flew in a Pan American Airways Boeing 314, msn 1992, registered NC18605 and named "Dixie Clipper." The secret and circuitous journey began on 11 January, when the plane departed Miami, Florida with a "Mr. Jones" on the manifest. Roosevelt flew on the B 314 to Gambia where he boarded a USAAF C-54 Skymaster for the flight to French Morocco. The trip was repeated in reverse at the conclusion of the conference.
LIBYA: XXX Corps, British Eighth Army, moves forward in preparation for an assault on the Buerat line and drive on Tripoli.
RAF (B-24) Liberators, under the operational control of the USAAF Ninth Air Force's IX Bomber Command, hit Tripoli, Tagiura and the supply dump at Misurata.
TUNISIA: USAAF Ninth Air Force B-25 Mitchells strike motor transport near Gheiada, with P-40s providing cover. B-24 Liberators fail, due to weather, to locate Sousse harbor (the primary target), but four bomb in the target area and one bombs the road near Teboulba.
Twenty six USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, with an escort of 17 P-38 Lightnings, attack docks and shipping at Sfax; a total of two hundred fifty three 500-pound (227 kilogram) bombs are dropped from 23,400 feet (7 132 meters). Sixteen other B-17s bomb shipping at Sousse. B-26 Marauders, with fighter escort, attack the rail junction at Kalaa Srira and the junction and warehouse at Mahares.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: In the first submarine resupply mission, USN submarine USS Gudgeon (SS-211) lands six men and 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) of equipment and supplies near Catmon Point, Negros, Philippines. (Chris Sauder)
NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, Major General George Vasey's Australian 7th Division, launches an offensive to intercept the Japanese withdrawal from the trail junction. While the U.S. 163d Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division, pushes south to block escape routes, the Australian 18th Brigade quickly clears Japanese remnants from the Junction and joins forces with the U.S. 163d Infantry Regiment on the Sanananda and Killerton trails. Final mop up is left to the Australian 2/7th Cavalry Regiment and 39th and 49th Battalions. The 2/6th Battalion, 17th Brigade, "Kanga Force" begins an air movement from Port Moresby to Wau.
In Papua New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs strafe the Labu area and small boats in Sachsen Bay. B-25 Mitchells bomb the fuel dump and other supplies along the beach in the vicinity of Voco Point near Lae. In Northeast New Guinea, B-24 Liberators carry out single-plane attacks on Madang and Finschhafen.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: In the costal sector, the 8th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, is still unable to advance because of fire from a ravine west of Hills 80 and 81. The 6th Marine Regiment replaces the 2d Marine Regiment on the division's left flank. Company C, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, continues their vain efforts to advance west, but patrols discover a route around the Japanese right flank. The depleted 2d Battalion, reinforced by the antitank company, continues fruitless efforts to reduce the Gifu strongpoint. The 147th Regiment force reaches Vurai and moves forward to Tapananja, about 6 miles (9,7 kilometers) south of Sealark Channel, when patrols find the Vurai area free of the Japanese and they establish outposts on the upper Poha River. Fresh Japanese troops land on Guadalcanal from destroyers to act as a rearguard unit to cover the evacuation. These 750 soldiers are from replacement troops for the 230th Regiment and are designated the Yano Batta lion. Another 100 soldiers accompany a mountain gun battery. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)
USAAF Thirteenth Air Force P-39 Airacobras, dropping improvised gasoline bombs in the Guadalcanal battle area around Mount Austen and Kokumbona, attack forces and supplies throught the day. Other fighters hit barges and launches at Kaimana Bay and Aruligo Point. B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the airfield on Buka Island without loss.
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Gasmata on New Britain Island.
PACIFIC OCEAN: Submarine U.S.S. Gudgeon (SS-211) lands men and equipment near Catmon Point, Negros, Philippines.
Submarine U.S.S. Pike (SS-173) is damaged by bombs and depth charges off Ichie Saki, Honshu. Pike returns to base.
Submarine U.S.S. Searaven (SS-196), on her sixth patrol moving through the waters around the Palaus, attacks a Japanese convoy between the Palaus and the Philippine island of Mindanao. Searaven fires a total of four torpedoes. All torpedoes hit targets. Two hit the sole escort, XSC Ganjitsu Maru #1(216T), and two strike A-AK Shiraha Maru (5682T) [some sources name the vessel Shirahane Maru (5693T)]. They sink in position 09°12'N, 130°38'E. (Chris Sauder)
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Norsyd laid down Quebec City, Province of Quebec.
Corvette HMCS Sackville arrived Liverpool, Nova Scotia for refit.
U.S.A.: Destroyer escort USS Atherton laid down.
Aircraft carrier USS Independence commissioned.
Minesweeper USS Swallow commissioned.